Emma White (born August 23, 1997) is an American former professional racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI Women's Continental Team Rally Cycling.[5]

Emma White
White in 2020
Personal information
Full nameEmma White
Born (1997-08-23) August 23, 1997 (age 26)
Duanesburg, New York, United States[1]
Team information
Current teamRally Cycling
Disciplines
  • Road
  • Track
  • Cyclo-cross[2]
RoleRider
Professional team
2016–2021Rally Cycling[3][4]
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Team pursuit
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2020 Berlin Team pursuit

Biography edit

The sister of fellow racing cyclist Curtis White,[6] Emma started cycle racing at the age of nine, initially in cyclo-cross.[7] She had already taken up horse riding early in her childhood, and continued to pursue this alongside cycling until the age of 16.[8] She won three consecutive national junior cyclo-cross championships in the 13-14 and 15-16 age groups between 2011 and 2013[9] before winning the 17-18 junior title in 2015.[10] She also enjoyed a successful junior career on the road, winning consecutive national junior time trial championships in different age groups in 2013 and 2014 and the national junior criterium championship in 2015,[7] as well as taking two silver medals at the 2015 UCI Road World Championships.[6]

White also won a bronze medal in the 2015 U23 national cyclo-cross championships.[8] She was subsequently crowned national U23 cyclo-cross champion in 2018, also placing seventh in the U23 race at the 2018 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.[7] Shortly after the cyclo-cross worlds, she attended a track talent ID camp at the behest of her coach, Kristin Armstrong, and was invited by Gary Sutton, the coach of the US team pursuit squad, to join the team, to which she agreed, beginning training with the squad in the summer of 2018.[11]

The following year White became national senior criterium champion in Knoxville: at the age of 21 she became the youngest rider to win that title, additionally securing the U23 championship. She dedicated her victory to her former team-mate Kelly Catlin, who had committed suicide earlier in 2019. A couple of days later, she went on to finish third in the senior United States National Road Race Championships and win the U23 road title.[12][11] That year she also graduated from Union College, having pursued an interdepartmental major in computer science and science, medicine and technology.[6][13]

White was selected to compete in the team pursuit at the 2020 Track Cycling World Championships alongside Lily Williams, Chloé Dygert and Jennifer Valente: the quartet set the fastest time in qualifying and beat Great Britain in the final to win the rainbow jersey.[11] She also competed in the same event at the delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo the following year: although Team USA were defeated by Team GB in the semi-finals, they took bronze in the third place ride-off against Canada.[13] White announced her retirement from competition in October 2021 at the age of 24, shortly after taking a final win in the criterium at the Sea Otter Classic where she led a clean sweep for Rally Cycling ahead of team-mates Heidi Franz and Kristabel Doebel-Hickok.[7]

Major results edit

Source:[14]

2014
National Junior Road Championships
1st   Time trial
2nd Road race
5th Time trial, UCI Junior Road World Championships
2015
National Junior Road Championships
1st   Criterium
2nd Time trial
UCI Junior Road World Championships[15]
2nd Road race
2nd Time trial
3rd National U23 Cyclo-cross Championships
2017
1st Stage 4 (ITT) Tour of the Gila
2018
National Road Championships
1st   Under-23 road race
1st   Under-23 time trial
1st   Under-23 criterium
3rd Road race
3rd Time trial
1st   National U23 Cyclo-cross Championships
1st   Sprints classification Tour of California
8th Overall Tour of the Gila
1st   Points classification
1st Stage 4 [16]
7th UCI U23 Cyclo-cross World Championships
2019
National Criterium Championships
1st   Senior
1st   U23
10th Overall Women's Tour of Scotland
2020
1st   Team pursuit, UCI Track World Championships
2021
1st Sea Otter Classic, criterium
3rd   Team pursuit, Olympic Games

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Emma White". Rally Cycling. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  2. ^ "Emma White and Ellen Noble Star are Stars of the North". CX Magazine. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  3. ^ Soladay, Tom. "2019 men's and women's rosters". Rally UHC Cycling. Circuit Sport. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  4. ^ "Rally Cycling". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  5. ^ "Rally Cycling". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Emma White". USA Cycling. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Tyson, Jackie (October 13, 2021). "Olympian Emma White makes surprise retirement announcement". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Faces of the Future: Seven things to know about Emma White". Cycling Tips. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  9. ^ "Emma White". USA Cycling. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  10. ^ "White claims junior women's 17-18 cyclo-cross title in Austin". cyclingnews.com. January 12, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Dreier, Fred (July 30, 2021). "Emma White's Olympic journey has included triumph, tragedy, and a once-in-a-lifetime transformation". VeloNews. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  12. ^ Coulon, Jessica (July 1, 2019). "Emma White Becomes Youngest Woman Ever to Win National Criterium". Bicycling. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Bassett, Joyce (November 7, 2021). "All In: Olympic champion cyclist Emma White begins a new chapter". timesunion.com. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  14. ^ "Emma White". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  15. ^ "Catching Up with Worlds Silver Medalist Emma White". bicycling.com. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  16. ^ "Tour of the Gila 2018: Stage 4 Women Results". cyclingnews.com. April 22, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2021.

External links edit